Brentwood Parking Stall Size Requirements Defined, Patch Mismeasures

A Patch article on Wednesday that compared parking stall widths at area lots, and found some to be undersized, actually gave the wrong impression.

Stalls are measured from the center of the painted stripes, not from the inside of the stripes. Proper measureing added four inches to the numbers in the chart, which put most parking stalls very close to the width in Brentwood's code, which is nine feet.

The Patch measurements did find variations in stall widths, but Brentwood Assistant City Administrator/Director of Planning & Development Ellen Rottjakob said when painting a large lot, lines may be off by a few inches. 

She said the most appropriate measurement is to take the entire length of one parking row and then divide by the number of stalls to find the average width. For example, 109 feet with 12 stalls is 9 feet each.

Rottjakob said the city requires site plan approval for new parking lots, but once approved, the property owner is responsible for having the stripes painted correctly to match their approved (original) site plan when they reseal/restripe their lot. 

She said, if using the correct measuring technique, the average width calculation is off significantly, they may have added spaces on a row by shrinking each space slightly. If this were the case, it would be a code enforcement matter. 

Rottjakob passed along the parking stall size requirements found in Chapter 25 of the Brentwood Code. 

For 90 degree parking space, the parking stall dimensions are 18’ x 9’.  

Below is an excerpt from the Brentwood Code that includes all dimensions.

Sec. 25-304.  Size of parking spaces.

(a) The following schedule of parking space and layout standards shall apply to all parking facilities provided in the city, in accordance with this article:

Angle of Parking Row to Driveway Aisle (degrees)

30

45

60

90

One- or

One-way

One-way

One-way

two-way

Depth of parking row

17

20

20

18

Width of parking space

9

9

9

9

Width of aisle

11

13

18

23

Parallel parking spaces shall be at least twenty-three (23) feet in length, and eight (8) feet in width.

(b) Upon approval of the planning and zoning commission, up to thirty (30) percent of the required parking spaces may be smaller than provided in the preceding section for those uses of a site or lot which have little turnover and are typically occupied all day or overnight, such as for offices or apartments. Approved small car spaces shall be grouped and clearly marked for small car use, rather than being scattered simply to solve layout difficulties. Such small car spaces may be provided in the following manner:

Small Car Spaces

Angle of Parking Row to Driveway Aisle (degrees)

30

45

60

90

One-way

One-way

One-way

One-way
or two-way

Depth of parking row in feet

15

18

18

16

Width of parking space in feet

8

8

8

8

Width of aisle in feet

11

13

18

23

(c) The planning and zoning commission may approve the use of continuous curbs as wheel stops and thus measure the size of parking spaces to be two (2) feet less in length than otherwise required. In such instances the parking layout should allow for the vehicle to overhang the curb by two (2) feet and such overhang area must be clear of all obstructions such as signs, trees, etc., and may not be regarded as required landscape area or pedestrian circulation space.

(Ord. No. 2739, § 43-72.3, 5-20-85; Ord. No. 3033, § 14, 10-16-89)